Breaking The Society's Hold
by HeroPower
Summary: After a talk with Alexis, Jaden is forced to confront his feelings for her, in order to save her from the Society of Light. Remake of the original Breaking The Hold. Set in Jaden's POV.
1. Feelings Acknowledged

Disclaimer: Hey, look, it's been eight years, and I STILL don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. What a shame.

* * *

Author's Note: I originally wrote Breaking the Hold, along with the four other fanfics in the Breaking the Hold series, nearly ten years ago. I have gotten SO much better at writing since then. So, couple years of experience with a want to have fun this next year, and you get me deciding to rewrite these old fics. For my old fans, I hope you enjoy. For new fans, look forward to a story that got me more popularity than any other fanfic I've ever written, not that that's hard to do.

* * *

Hey, everybody! The Number One Duelist in the World, Jaden Yuki here! Now, I know my life seems amazing, and it is. But there are even times when the greatest duelist ever born has some down time. And I don't mean time between duels.

Take this one time, for example.

I was sitting in my dorm room, soaking wet. I just kept asking myself this one question and... Wait, I should probably explain the wet thing, huh?

* * *

Okay, it was earlier that day. Obviously. Anyway, it had been a few days since we had all gotten back from going to Domino City for an Academy Field Trip of sorts. Naturally, this was thanks to yourself truly.

Getting back on track, tract, track... Which is it? Ah, never mind! Getting back to the point!

My buddies and roommates Syrus and Hassleberry... Should I called him Tyranno? It takes less time... Ah, whatever. Syrus and Hassleberry had gone to the hot springs for a nice, refreshing dip. I was gonna join them, but then they got to arguing about who was my best friend, as they always did, so I decided to head back before them. But don't worry. I DID get to soak.

See, you have to walk by the beach to get to and from the hot springs. And who should happen to be standing on the beach, but Alexis. This was the first time I had seen her outside of class since returning from Domino, so I ran over to say "hi". That was all. Just wanted to say "hey" to a friend. Yup!

"Lex, what's up?" I asked, running over.

As Alexis turned around to look at me, I could see she was still wearing her White Uniform.

Okay, I know some people haven't followed the full history of the Great Jaden Yuki, so here's the abridged version. During my second year at Duel Academy, Chazz dueled this guy, Sartorious, who claimed to be able to see the future. Sartorious talked Chazz into joining his group, The Society of Light. Chazz went on to duel everyone in Obelisk Blue, trying to turn the dorm into Obelisk White. Anyone who lost to a member of the Society was brainwashed to join their group. And Alexis just had to duel him to stop him. But he ended up beating her... somehow! So, she ended up joining the Society as well. Now, frankly, I should have stopped Chazz just after his brainwashing, but I was busy, alright? I was in space, saving a dolphin-man from a robot. ...What are you talking about? Why would I need some cheetos?

Anyway, Alexis just stared at me. "What do you want, slacker?"

"Slacker?" I asked, in some shock. "Come on, Lex. Can't we catch up?"

"I have no intention of talking to someone who opposes Master Sartorious." Alexis said, walking past me. Passed me? Which is it? "However, if you're talking to me because you want to join the Society of Light, you just need to let me beat you in a duel."

"Oh, come on, Alexis." I chuckled. "You know I never throw a match, even against a friend. Besides, I would never join that group. You should probably drop out too."

That... probably wasn't the best thing to say. Alexis seemed upset, and promptly... pushed me into the ocean! As ya do.

"I would never leave the Society!" Alexis yelled, glaring down at me. "I've finally had my eyes opened to the truth of the world!"

"But, Alexis.." I said, standing up. "You have to see there's something wrong with this."

And back in the water I go.

"There's nothing wrong with this!" Alexis yelled, though frankly, I like to think she was trying to convince herself more than me. "This is what I believe in now that I've seen the light."

Protip. If someone says they've "had their eyes opened" or "seen the light", it's usually a good sign they've joined a cult. Take it from someone with experience.

Alexis went to leave, but not before saying, "Remember, if you ever want to join the Society, come talk to me."

I sat there for a few seconds, in shock. I mean, I could see this from Chazz, even Zane, considering how they'd changed since my first year, but Alexis? She was always sweet, nice, always respectful, a good listener, but had interesting things to say herself and... You heard nothing. Anyway, I also had her last words buzzing in my head. Surely she'd known by now I wasn't gonna join the Society. However, those thoughts would have to wait for later, because I started to get cold, sitting in the ocean like that.

* * *

All things considered, she could have done worse to me. Being pushed into an ocean just means I had to change into my Academy jersey once I got back to my dorm. It's not like she put a private mail I sent her out there for the world to see.

But there I was. Sitting in my bed to warm up, contemplating Alexis' last words.

"Why does she think I'd join?" I muttered to myself.

Winged Kuriboh, my Duel Spirit, appeared on my shoulder.

"Kuri, Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh cried out.

"She DID offer to duel me!" I shouted. "And if I can beat her, then I can bring her back, like everyone else I've beaten from the Society! HA! Thank you, Neo Space powers!"

"Kuri, Kuri Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh said.

"Uh... You're right, Kuriboh." I said. "She did seem really upset. If I did ask her to duel, I'd probably be humiliated in front of the whole school. I need a plan."

Before Winged Kuriboh could suggest anything, a loud growl echoed through the room.

"Alright, stomach." I said, patting my belly. "Food first, then plan."

Dry enough, I made a quick food run before coming up with my plan.

That's why, when Syrus and Hassleberry got back, they found me sitting at the desk in our room, snacking on an eggwich, with wrappers scattered around the floor.

"Carry the two, times that by the square root of pi, add the one..." I muttered to myself while scribbling numbers on a piece of paper. ...Look, I'm not the best with non-dueling math, alright?

"Uh... Private Truesdale?" I heard Hassleberry say. "Are you seeing this too?"

"Either that, or we're both delusional." Syrus said. Thanks, guys. Glad to know this is such a shocking sight...

"Sarge..." Hassleberry started.

"...whatcha doing?" Syrus finished.

"And why are you soaking wet?" Hassleberry added.

"Oh, hey guys." I said, between bites of an eggwich. "I'm planning."

"Planning?" Syrus asked. "For what?"

"Hold on, Private Truesdale." Hassleberry said. "I still wanna know why the Sarge is wet when he ditch us."

"Oh, that's because..." I said, before taking another bite and quickly swallowing. "Alexis shoved me into the ocean."

"She did what?!" Hassleberry yelled.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Though, I think she challenged me to a duel, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to duel her, without her humiliating me. Not in a duel, of course. She's good, but not that good. I just don't want to be pantsed, or have a bucket of water dropped on my head or something."

"Wait, how'd you get so many sandwiches?" Syrus asked.

"Well, y'know, I went to Dorothy, worked some of the ol' Yuki charms and... when she saw me dripping wet and starving, she took pity on me." I admitted. Hey, nothing gets in the way of my stomach. Not even my pride. "I even managed to get a golden eggwich for once! Luck is on my side!"

"So, what's the plan, Sarge?" Hassleberry asked. "Do we mount a full on assault of the White Dorm, hold them all down, while you duel Private Rhodes, or maybe we go incognito, seek into her room and you duel her there?"

"Uh, think a little more in the box there, Hassleberry." I said. "I like your ideas, but pull them back a bit."

"Um, Jaden?" Syrus asked.

"Hm?" I asked, turning my attention to Syrus.

"Isn't she your tutor?" Syrus asked.

"Tutor?" Hassleberry asked.

Guess I should explain.

* * *

Like I said, when I'm in action, I'm great. But when it comes to tests and things like that, even with dueling, I'm terrible. So, one day, after class had ended, I was staring at one of my tests.

"Only ten percent?" I heard someone behind me ask.

I looked behind me, and there was Alexis' shining face. Hm? Oh, uh, the light happened to be hitting her that day. That's what I meant.

"Yeah." I said. "So what? No big deal."

"No big deal?!" Alexis asked, incredulously. Did I use that right? Incredulously? "Jaden, there's only ten questions on the test!"

"Yeah." I said. "So, I got two right!"

"Uh, Jaden, ten percent out of ten questions means you only got one question right." Alexis said.

"I knew that. I was joking." I said. "C'mon, Lex. Give me a little more credit than that."

"Wow, and I thought Syrus was kidding when he said you barely got through your written entrance exam." Alexis said. "How do you plan to be King of Games like this?"

"My skills as a duelist say it all." I said, confidently.

"Jaden, if you even wanna graduate from Duel Academy, you'll have to bring your grade up more." Alexis explained.

"WHAT?!" I asked, entirely shocked. "You mean, if I don't do good on these tests, they'll keep me from the Pros?"

"The Pro League?" Alexis asked. "Jaden, you won't even be advanced to the third year if you don't pick up your grade."

"Ya gotta help me, Lex!" I said, grasping her hands in mine. "Please! You're my last hope! I can't just go crawling to Bastion! He'll never let me hear the end of it!"

"Are you asking me to tutor you?" Alexis asked.

"If that means you'll help teach me stuff, then yes!" I begged. ...Hey, as long as it's Alexis, I'm not too proud to be- I mean, I was desperate! I'd have been held back otherwise!

"Well, Jazz and Mindy are always telling me I'd make a good teacher." Alexis mutter under her breath. "This would be a good chance to see if they're right. Alright! Come by my room every Friday afternoon."

"Got it, Alexis!" I said.

That was earlier this year, just before I lost the ability to see my cards.

* * *

"Just duel her when you two are alone." Syrus said.

"I can't." I said.

"Why not?" Syrus prodded.

"You sure are asking a lot of questions, Syrus." I pointed out.

* * *

It was the Friday just after Alexis had been brought over to the Society's side.

After class, as usual, I approached her for my tutoring session.

"Hey, Alexis!" I called out.

"Slacker?" Alexis asked, confused. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" I asked back. "It's Friday. You always tutor me on Friday."

"I'm not gonna waste my time on a Slifer Slacker like you." Alexis said. "I've got better things to do now that I'm part of the Society of Light. But if you were to join the Society, I guess I could tutor you."

"Not gonna happen, Lex." I chuckled.

* * *

Back in the present... it just occurred to me how weird that phrase is... Syrus stared at me in shock.

"She just refuses to tutor me as long as I'm not in the Society." I explained.

"Jaden, I know this is a little obvious, but do you ever trying using your brain!?" Syrus shouted.

"Private Truesdale, what is your major malfunction?!" Hassleberry asked. "You don't talk to the Sarge like that!"

"Jaden, don't you see what she's doing?" Syrus asked.

"Trying to turn me to the Society's side?" I asked.

"No! Well, yes..." Syrus admitted. "But there's more to it! She wants to be with you!"

"Huh?" I asked.

Syrus just stared blankly at me, before beginning to pace around.

"Let us review the facts." Syrus said, holding his chin and nodding. "Alexis has said on multiple occasions that she wants you to join the Society. Along with Chazz, she's picked several duelists within the Society to beat you and bring you over to the Society. She called off your dates unless you'd join the Society."

"They weren't dates!" I shouted.

"Jaden, don't you see?" Syrus said. "She likes you and wants to be with you."

"Well, it's obvious that she likes me. Everyone does." I said. Yeah, I'm egotistical, but I'm that good. "And if she wants to be on our side, she can just come back any time."

"It's not that easy, Sarge." Tyranno said. "Sometimes, even though they'd never dream of betraying you, once an ally soldier is captured by the enemy, the enemy brainwashes them so hard, they simply can't go back, no matter how loud they're screaming on the inside."

"Ah, I get what you mean." I had no idea.

"And when I said she likes you, I didn't mean like we do." Syrus said, pointing to Hassleberry, then himself. "I mean, like Blair liked my brother... and then you. Or how Bastion liked that Amazon lady."

"She wants to duel me all night?" I asked.

Syrus just blushed deeply and looked away. "Something like that. Focus on Blair and Zane."

"Oh, right." I said, nodding my head. "Blair had a crush on Zane an-"

I cut myself off when I realized what Syrus meant.

"Sh-She doesn't think of me like that!" I insisted.

"Jaden, everyone can see it." Syrus said. "Remember what happened at the end of last year?"

"Uh..." I said, feigning ignorance.

"I don't." Hassleberry said. "Mind explainin', Sy?"

"Oh, at the end of each year, the top duelist of each dorm is called on to a stage to see off the graduating students." Syrus explained.

* * *

Alright, so what happened wasn't that major. It happened right after my duel with Zane. As the top duelist of the Academy, Zane was asked to make a speech.

"Before I start my graduation speech..." I seem to recall Zane saying. "...as per Duel Academy tradition, I will call the top students of each dorm up. Jaden Yuki of Slifer Red."

Scratching the back of my head sheepishly, that's the phrase, right? I took to the stage.

"Bastion Misawa of Ra Yellow." Zane announced.

Bastion made his way to the stage, standing next to me.

"Well, seems we're both Number One of our dorm." Bastion whispered to me, smirking.

"Alexis Rhodes of Obelisk Blue." Zane called out.

Alexis stood up and walked towards the stage. On the way, our eyes happened to meet, and we both looked away. I will admit, I blushed. But, hey, when a pretty girl with great dueling skills locks eyes with you, wouldn't you blush? Well, I suppose if you like guys, you wouldn't, but... same applies, y'know? Wait, did I just call Alexis pretty?

According to the others, Alexis had blushed too.

There was more to Zane's speech, but honestly, I didn't pay attention. I went blow to blow with Zane in our duel. I knew everything that was in his heart from our duel.

* * *

In the present, that sounds better, Syrus had finished explaining to Hassleberry everything I just explained to you.

"Well, when ya put it that way..." Hassleberry said, nodding. "It does sound like the Sarge likes Alexis."

"Look, guys, I'm telling you, it's not like that." I said.

"Jaden, are you trying to convince us, or yourself?" Syrus said. Little brat! I just said something like that earlier!

"Uh..." I knew anything I said, Syrus had a counter-argument for.

I knew, unlike in a duel, Syrus had me beat.

"Jaden, I know how it feels to like someone." Syrus said, as I hung my head. "Remember? Dark Magician Girl. Just admit it."

Sighing heavily, I looked up at my two friends. "Yeah, Sy. You're right. I like Alexis as more than just a friend."

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah, as anyone who read the old fics can tell, I've gotten a LOT better. For one, I cut out that dumb Graduation Kiss. Probably also helps that I've had a girlfriend since I wrote BtH the first time around. And yet back then I had my first love... and looking back, first love trumps first girlfriend. Well, while that might not help too much, I do have a (now former) friend who basically joined a cult. I say basically because unlike a real cult, there is no leader, so it's kinda more of a gang... Still, knowing what it's like to have a friend with a cult-like mindset should help.

..Yeah, it's no wonder why I want to have a fun year now, huh?


	2. The Long Night

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Now, owning DVDs, sure. Heh.

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Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed and favorited this fic so far. Also anyone who puts this on their alerts, but that's more for the reader's sake than the writers.

* * *

After having my little... revelation, I decided to take a short walk to clear my mind. Syrus suggested it. According to him, after that whole incident with Dark Magician Girl, he went on a walk of his own. And yeah, I was taking advice from Syrus. Look, I'm not good when it comes to love, alright?

"Who can I talk to?" I pondered to myself. "Zane's older than me, and has many girls who like him. I'm sure he likes a few back. Uh... but then, he's not at the Academy anymore, and even if he was, he's gone a little off his rocker."

Aquos' spirit appeared next to me, walking alongside me. ...Okay, I'm gonna level with you. Aquos didn't actually appear, but me talking to myself doesn't seem as good. So, Aquos was walking next to me.

"What about your friend Bastion?" Aquos asked.

"He always gets awkward when people talk about love around him." I explained. "Especially since the Tania incident."

"Well, there's Alexis' brother." Aquos said. "He should know her well."

"Aquos, you weren't around last year." I said. "Towards the end, Chazz went to Atticus for advice. It ended up with Alexis dueling Chazz for the Spirit Keys... which then unlocked the Spirit Gates, and nearly destroyed us all. I'm not taking his advice."

"Understandable." Aquos nodded. "A teacher, perhaps?"

"The pickings are slim." I said. "We have Chancellor Sheppard, who's gone, Banner, who died, I don't even know who the Ra teacher is, and Crowler. Crowler hates me."

"Aren't you forgetting someone there?" Aquos asked.

"No. Don't think so." I said.

"How about Aster?" Aquos asked.

"I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend." I said.

"You could ask around." Aquos said.

"Aquos, I'm a guy with a crush on the hottest girl and best female duelist in this school." I explained. "Do you know how much help I'll get?"

"Oh, at the lighthouse." Aquos said.

"Yes, I'll get so much at the lighthouse help." I said, sarcastically. "Wait, lighthouse? What?"

"Alexis is over at the lighthouse." Aquos said, pointing at it.

I looked at the lighthouse, and I could barely make out the figure of Alexis standing next to another figure.

"Just go try to talk to her." Aquos advised.

Sighing to myself, I went to go talk to Alexis, even if it would probably end with me going off the dock and needing to be picked up by nearby sailors.

Once I got closer, I could see the figure next to Alexis was Chazz.

'Huh, I thought it was Zane.' I thought to myself. 'Not sure why he'd be here though.'

Chazz seemed to notice me, so I quickly jumped in the first bush I could find. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but I think I did hear a "Slacker". Yeah, they were talking about me. Then, it happened.

I still don't know what happened, but in the blink of an eye, Chazz had kissed Alexis. ON THE LIPS! Oh, first he tries to take my birthright as the Next King of Games, now this? Nuh-uh! Jaden Yuki will not stand for such a disgrace!

So, I went to jump from the bush, when I saw an awesome sight. Alexis slapped Chazz HARD across the face. Dang, that was hot! She even knocked him out with that one! Then she stormed off.

Once she was a ways away, I headed back to my room. Of course, I did make a quick stop before heading back there, but the lawyers of a certain someone named Charles have kept me from talking about who I kicked in the gut. Yes, gut... Moving on!

* * *

After I got back to my room, I brushed off Syrus and Hassleberry's questions on what happened, and just tried to get some rest. It had been an eventful day. Being pushed in the ocean, seeing Chazz kiss Alexis, realizing I love Ale... Al... ALL MY BEST FRIENDS SO MUCH! Anyway, I just wanted a good nights rest.

The thing is... have you ever tried to go to sleep with so much rattling around in your head? I mean, usually I just tune out what the teachers say and all, but this was in my own head. And it wouldn't SHUT UP! Every time I slipped off to sleep, I'd end up waking up five minutes later. Yay for me.

Thankfully, I eventually got an excuse to stay up. Someone was knocking at my door. Well, now, it would just be rude of me to keep whoever that is waiting, wouldn't it? Sorry, sleep, but you're less important than being a good person.

So I jumped out of bed and answered the door. And who should I see, but Chazz! Oh, good. Round Two!

"Ah, Chazz." I said, cracking my knuckles. "What brings you here at this hour?"

"I'm sorry I disturbed your precious sleep, Slacker." Chazz said, in a pained voice. "But Master Sartorious ordered me to stop by."

"Oh, good." I said, reaching into my pocket for my deck. ...What? You don't sleep with your deck? "Then get your game on!"

"I'm not here to duel." Chazz said, yawning. "Master Sartorious has approved a duel request and sent me to tell you. I have no clue why."

I do. Even evil cult leaders have some shred of dignity, and he's probably upset about you kissing Alexis. Of course, saying this would reveal I saw everything, and who kicked Chazz. Look, I'm not proud of my actions. ...Alright, I am a bit.

"You'll be dueling Alexis tomorrow." Chazz said.

"Alexis?" I said, shocked. Who'd have guessed she'd take initiative and ask Sartorious to duel me. I figured I need to convince him to let her duel me for something he wanted. Like his tarot cards or embarrassing pajamas.

"Yes." Chazz said. "I don't know why she wants to duel you though. Master Sartorious just said it had something to do with the twins or something."

* * *

Alright, I later asked Aster about this. What Chazz meant was The Lovers tarot card. It's known as both.

"From what I learnt from Sartorious..." Aster explained. "...it refers to decisions that must be made. Just as we do not carefully choose our lover, we must take all choices into deep consideration. It's alternate name refers to the dual nature."

"You mean like the nature of the draw?" I asked. "Cause I can pretty much draw whatever I need whenever."

"No, not like that." Aster said, somewhat irritated. "I didn't mean Duel Monsters. Dual, two. In order to gain something, something else must be sacrificed. Going back to lovers, it's like if you had two potential girlfriends. Once you pick one, you don't have the chance at another. Though, I guess in your case, it's more once you get a girlfriend, you can't go back to your childish nature."

Yeah, I'll show him childish! Who beat who in our duel, huh? Flare Neos all the way!

* * *

But back to the past... You know what I mean! The Jaden and Chazz Talk Hour!

"Of course, in order to get the duel approved, there was a price." Chazz said.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Don't think you can just talk Alexis out of the Society." Chazz gloated. "Master Sartorious will remove any last shred of free will from her tomorrow. She'll be little more than a puppet."

To punctuate things, Chazz let out a sinister snicker. Actually, did you know sinister is the word for left-handed? I learned way too much.

Glaring at Chazz, I just closed the door. "Just go home, Chazz."

I went back to bed after that. Well, I got back in my bed. Went to bed implies I managed to get to sleep. How could I? I was already a mess before. Now I had to deal with the knowledge that not only did I have to duel Alexis, but she was gonna be a mindless puppet, all because of me!

How do you deal with this? Is this what other guys deal with? I mean, I know Syrus is in love with a spirit, but he didn't seem that worried about things with Dark Magician Girl! And she wasn't even there! It is at this point I realized I had less life experience than Syrus for once.

My mind was an absolute mess.

'I bet this is their plan.' I thought to myself, just lying on my bed. 'They want to keep me up all night. Then I'll be too tired at the duel tomorrow.'

Like I said, a mess. I wasn't thinking rationally.

* * *

So, obviously, what I needed most of all, as I could physically feel the bags under my eyes, was someone else knocking on my door at what must have been Something AM. You don't knock on a guy's door in the AMs before 9. ...I mean, 7. Yes. I don't sleep in until 9. What are you talking about?

'Chazz must be back for Round 3.' I thought to myself as I went to answer the door. 'Fine. I know what to say to him.'

As I opened the door, with a harsh glare, I said "Your brothers wet the bed."

A VERY confused Alexis greeted me with a shocked expression.

"Um, I only have the one brother, and Atticus never wet the bed." Alexis said.

"Ah, Lex..." I said, yawning. "Good to see you. I thought it was Chazz again. Look, if you wanna push me in the ocean, that's fine. But I should warn you, I'm dead tired and that'll probably help wake me up, so if you're doing it to hurt me, it'll help instead."

Alexis chuckled nervously. "Funny. Actually, I wanted to apologize for that."

"Apology accepted." I said, leaning against the door to keep myself from collapsing on the floor. "Is that all?"

"Well, if you want, I mean, I know you must be tired, but we could study a bit." Alexis said.

"Study?" I asked.

"We've missed some tutoring, right?" Alexis asked.

"Uh, sure." I said. "I'm probably not gonna get sleep anyway. Can we do it in your room though? I don't wanna wake Syrus and Hassleberry."

"Sure, but... I don't think you'll be allowed in the White Dorm." Alexis said.

"I meant your old room." I said.

"Huh?" Alexis responded back.

* * *

Making sure to lock and close my dorm room's door as quietly as possible, Alexis and I made our way into the room she used between leaving Obelisk Blue and joining Obelisk White. I'll give Chazz this. That room is amazing!

"This place looks amazing!" Alexis said.

"You act like you've never been here before." I said.

"No, I remember what it looks like." Alexis said. "I just expected it to be, like... covered in dust."

"I stop by from time to time and clean it." I muttered, before sitting down on the couch.

"Jaden, you..." Alexis started.

"No talk." I said, slamming my hands on the table. "Study now!"

"Alright." Alexis said, chuckling.

We studied for a bit, and I swear, it was like the ol' Alexis was a bit, we took a break and started talking. And then... I have no recollection, because we eventually zonked out, leaning against each other.

* * *

We eventually woke up to two people yelling.

"JADEN!" Was the sound that shook us up.

After shaking off any sleep we had left in us, we stepped out of the room and saw Syrus and Hassleberry going nuts, looking for me.

"Jaden, where are you?!" Syrus yelled.

"Sarge, if you're here, speak to us!" Hassleberry called.

"Guys, chill." I said, leaning over the railing.

Syrus and Hassleberry turned and saw me.

"Jaden!" Syrus cried out.

"Sarge!" Hassleberry shouted. "Where were you?"

"Hanging out with..." I started, then motioned to Alexis.

"Hey, guys." Alexis said, with a small wave.

Hassleberry jumped over the stairs, in front of me.

"Must defend Sarge from the scary ice lady!" Hassleberry said, his eyes turning to their dino form.

"Whoa, calm down, guys." I said. "She's cool."

"Jaden, has she brainwashed you?" Syrus asked. "She's a member of the Society of Light."

"I was just tutoring Jaden a bit." Alexis said, walking past Hassleberry and I.

"Wait, tutoring?" Syrus asked.

"Yep." I said, smiling.

"You tutored the Slacker!?" We all heard a voice shout in rage.

Chazz walked up.

"Why would you tutor a Slifer Slacker!" Chazz yelled.

"What I do at night is my business." Alexis said.

Syrus and Hassleberry stared at me.

"Tutoring!" I yelled.

"Whatever." Chazz said, obviously in a bad mood. "Master Sartorious wants to see you before the duel."

"Duel?" Syrus and Hassleberry asked in unison. ...I read a dictionary at one point while trying to get to sleep, okay?

"Oh, yeah." I said. "Lex and I are dueling later."

"Understood." Alexis said, walking past Chazz. "Jaden, I'll see you in the arena."

"See ya then." I said.

Alexis left after that. I knew, next time we saw each other, she'd be Sartorious' puppet.

"Well, Slifer Slacker, I'll see you once Alexis beats you." Chazz said with a snicker again.

"Hey, Chazz!" I called out as he was walking away. He looked back at me. "Your brothers wet the bed!"

Chazz just growled at that and walked off.

I quickly got ready for school and explained the situation to Syrus and Hassleberry on the way there. Once school was out for the day, I'd finally settle things with Alexis.

* * *

Author's Note: So, obviously enough, I've been adapting about three chapters of the original into this here remake. That's probably gonna be the plan for the other fics in the series once I get to them. Also, I'll be updating every 11 days. If you knew the original, you're probably not surprised by the end date. Nothing else much to say, but hope you've enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Flames of Passion

Disclaimer: Despite watching all of Season 1 of GX again since the last update, I still don't own it. Maybe I'll try Season 2 and see where that gets me.

* * *

I stood outside the Obelisk Blue, well, White, Duel Arena, trying to compose myself. Now, the great Jaden Yuki is no nervous wreck. But, I was suddenly dueling someone who I realize I lo... lo.. LIKE VERY MUCH! Anyway, I've said it before, but how are you supposed to try to pull someone out of this stuff?

'Okay, calm down, Yuki...' I thought to myself. 'It won't be Alexis. It'll be Sartorious controlling her.'

With that thought barely reassuring me, I stepped into the Duel Arena.

Alexis was there, eyes as soulless as I've ever seen someone's eyes get. ...I feel like that was a terrible sentence. well, whatever. You get the point! It looked like she was drained of everything that made Lex... Lex! And if Sartorious had his way, the whole world would probably be like this!

* * *

The turnout was larger than I expected. You had my friends on the side I had come from. Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastion, Aster, Atticus, Jasmine and Mindy. However, on the OTHER side? PLENTY of Society members, with Sartorious having a front row seat! Oh, goody... There were also a few students who just showed up to see a duel between the top duelist from Obelisk Blue dueling the greatest duelist ever. ...Or, thought that Alexis was the greatest duelist ever and wanted to see the top Slifer duel her. But if you think Alexis is better than me? ...Well, the duel will speak for itself.

Running up the platform, I quickly activated my Duel Disk. "Get your game on, Alexis!"

But she didn't say anything. She just activated her Duel Disk as well.

"Oh, what?" I heard Chazz jeer from the Society side. "No pre-duel trash talk, Slacker?"

Shut up, Chazz.

"I'll let you have the first move." Alexis said coldly. Yeah, definitely not the sweet, passionate Alexis I knew. ...Wait, what did I just say?

Drawing a card from my deck... Yeah, used to be the person who went first would also draw on their first turn. They changed the rules some time ago.

Sorry, tangent. Drawing a card from my deck, I sarcastically said "How sweet."

The card I drew was Polymerization! Yeah! And since I had Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand... Well, we all know my famous move.

"I activate Polymerization!" I cried out, as a holographic image of the card appeared in front of me. Then holograms of Avian and Burstinatrix appeared in front of me, combining to form Flame Wingman!

"How predictable." Alexis muttered.

'Predictable?' I thought to myself. 'Yeah, because they remind me of us.'

...Okay, I know it sounds bad. I mean, it sounds bad if you know where the "inatrix" in Burstinatrix comes from, and comparing the girl I sorta kinda like to that... Look, it really is better than it sounds.

* * *

See, it was just after I had beat Dr. Crowler in the entrance exams. Yeah, I was pretty impressive, summoning Flame Wingman, taking out Ancient Gear Golem with Skyscraper. Yep, I have to admit, I'm amazing.

But as I was celebrating, I happened to look up and see who I thought was an upperclassman looking down at me and smiling the cutest smile ever. I had managed to impress a cute girl and I wasn't even officially in the Academy yet. Again, I'm amazing!

I stared for a second, before realizing how many people were watching and began my little celebration for myself again. Of course, I did manage to blow a few kisses in the direction of that cute girl.

And naturally, when I got to the Academy, I happened to meet that girl. Her name, obviously, was Alexis Rhodes. And she was a good person too!

* * *

But back to my current duel.

"I'll also set a monster face-down!" I yelled, as the hologram of a horizontal card appeared next to Wingman.

Alexis drew a card from her deck and looked at it for a second, before playing a card from her hand.

"If you plan on fusing, I will too." Alexis said. Whoo boy. This wouldn't be fun.

Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater appeared on Alexis' field, before combining to form Cyber Blader. So, Cyber Blade is a fun card. She has 2100 Attack Points, like Flame Wingman. But her effect changes based on the number of monsters on the opponent's field. When there's two monsters? Her attack points DOUBLE!

"Next, I summon Cyber Tutu!" Alexis called out.

Cyber Tutu appeared next to Cyber Blader.

"Cyber Blader attacks Flame Wingman." Alexis declared.

With twice the attack points of my favorite card, Cyber Blade easily destroyed Wingman, and my Life Points dropped from 4000 to 1900. Yeah. I lost half my Life Points in one move. Man, Alexis is a GREAT duelist!

"Now, Cyber Tutu attacks your face-down monster." Alexis said.

Cyber Tutu spun forward, striking my face-down Dandelion with her foot.

"When Dandelion is destroyed, I get two Fluff Tokens!" I yelled, two actual dandelions appearing on my field.

"I end my turn." Alexis said.

I drew a card from my deck. NEOS! My main man! Yeah! He'd help me through this!

"I sacrifice my two Fluff Tokens to summon Elemental Hero Neos!" I called out.

My two flowers disappeared, and in their place stood the space hero I had personally designed! I still love that!

"Now, Neos, attack Alexis' Cyber Tutu!" I called out.

Neos ran over and karate chopped Cyber Tutu, taking Alexis' Life Points down to 2500.

'Sorry, Tutu...' I thought to myself.

"I'll lay down one face-down, and end my turn!" I yelled, a vertical card appearing between me and Neos.

"I play Card of Sanctity." Alexis said, after drawing a card from her deck.

"So, we both draw six cards, huh?" I asked. "Awful nice of you, giving me a gift."

"Whew!" I heard Atticus yell in the crowd. "Now that's how you do it! Give your fiancé a present!"

* * *

Yes, I know what that word means now. I wanna say I learned it when I picked up things like unison and all those other big words I'm sure everyone is just sooo surprised to hear I know. However, I actually looked up this word personally.

Now, I'd love to say I jumped on a computer and looked it up... but that option never occurred to me. Shut up!

"You wan to know the meaning of a word?" Bastion asked.

"Yeah." I said. "I heard this word a while back, and I wanted to know what it meant."

In case you're wondering, I had tennis that day. Why they made us take tennis, or really any sport at DUEL Academy, I still don't know. Did they expect us to get a college grand or something?

Back on topic, I had tennis class that day, and it triggered the memory of beating Harrington in my first year. So, I looked Bastion up after class. ...Thinking about it, he had been on a computer at the time. Wow, I was stupid!

"What word is it?" Bastion asked, turning his attention back to his computer.

"Fiancé." I said.

Bastion's eyes seemed to widen at this.

"Get out." Bastion said.

"Wha?" I asked. "Look, Syrus just wants to know."

"Just... get out." Bastion said. "I refuse to tell you what that word means!"

With a blush redder than my blazer, Bastion forced me out of his room.

"If you don't know the word, just say so." I said. Hey, loser! He did know the word! Only you would be so stupid enough to not kn- Wow, I'm yelling at myself. This is bitter sweet. Actually, not even sweet. Just bitter.

* * *

Anyway, since this was right between stopping the Sacred Beasts and the end of my first year, Chumley was still around. He was older, more mature. He's have to know what fiancé meant.

"Hey, Chum." I asked, back in my room. "I have a question for you."

"What is it, Jay?" Chumley asked, taking a bite from a grilled cheese.

"What does fiancé mean?" I asked.

Aaaand cue Chumley beginning to choke. After he managed to cough it out, I made sure he was okay before deciding to ask someone else. I mean, the first time had nearly killed him!

* * *

I decided my idea to ask someone older was good, but I needed to ask someone more calm, cool and collected. So, I wandered around the Academy a bit to find Zane.

But before I found Zane, I found Chazz.

"What are you doing hanging around the Obelisk Campus, Slacker?" Chazz asked.

'Someone forgets he's a Slifer now too.' I snarked in my head.

"I'm just looking for Zane." I said. "I have a question for him."

"He's at the Duel Arena, beating a few last opponent's before the end of the year." Chazz said. He could be helpful when he wants. "You another wannabe who wants to try making a name for himself by beating the king of the Academy?" And other times he's a snob. How much do you wanna bet he had lost to Zane earlier?

"Nah." I said. "I just have a question for him."

"What?" Chazz asked. "Zane shouldn't have to be bothered by your questions."

"Well, maybe you'll know." I said. "Fiancé. What's it mean?"

"Fiancé?!" Chazz asked, shocked. "Okay, first off, how do you not know that word? Second, if you didn't know it, where'd you hear it?!"

"Oh, back when you ditched Duel Academy, this guy named Harrington dueled me to be Alexis' fiancé." I explained. "I beat him, of course."

"I'll deal with you later!" Chazz barked, anger eminating from every part of his body. "Where's this Harrington guy now?!"

"Uh, probably at the Tennis Court." I said. "He's the leader of the team."

Chazz just bolted off. I actually wanted to see how he'd do dueling Harrington, but Chazz did give me a bit of information. If Zane was at the Obelisk Arena, he wouldn't be there for long. So I rushed to get there before Zane beat... well, everyone.

* * *

Even running that fast, I barely made it in time to see Cyber End Dragon destroy a Rapid-Fire Magician.

"Way to duel, Zane!" I said, doing my signature winning pose.

As Zane's opponents all left the Arena, Zane de-activated his Duel Disk and walked over to me.

"Jaden, I knew you'd come to challenge me." Zane said.

"Oh, I didn't come here to duel." I said. "But if you want one, sure! Just a question first."

"I won't be holding back, if that's what you're wondering." Zane said.

"No." I said. "I know you won't. But, uh... What does fiancé mean?"

Have you ever heard that expression, or better, seen "a deer in the headlights"? Yeah, that was Zane. Wide-eyed, unresponsive. I waved my hand in his face several times, but he seemed way too shocked. Complete lock-up.

* * *

Not wanting anyone to realize I broke Zane, I fled. And by fled, I mean, I ran like a wild Wheeler getting away from scientists! Then I slammed right into ol' Cyclops himself, Doctor Crowler! Both of us fell to the floor.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, SLACKER!" Crowler yelled.

"Sorry, Doctor Crowler." I said, standing up and reaching out my hand. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry."

"Yes, well..." Crowler said, slapping my hand away. "...don't let it happen again!"

"Hey, Doc, you're smart enough to get a doctorate, right?" I asked.

"Yes, that's what Doctor means." Crowler said. "Why?"

"Maybe you can tell me the meaning of another word then." I said.

"Oh, what is it?" Crowler asked, mockingly. "Slacker? Failure? Drop-out?"

"Fiancé." I said, ignoring his insults.

"Uh..." Crowler muttered. "Why would a child of your age be asking that?"

'Oh, will someone just give me a break for not knowing this one word?!' I shouted inwardly.

"Bastion says he has one." I lied. What? Crowler would mock me if he knew I had one.

"Oh, Bastion, huh?" Crowler asked. "Well, I must go give him my most sincere congratulations."

And Crowler just brushed me off. Next time you need someone to bail you out of being a doll, ask someone else!

However, as Crowler walked off, Atticus ran past him.

"Jaden!" Atticus exclaimed happily. "I finally found you."

"You've been looking for me?" I asked.

"I saw Zane in the Obelisk Arena." Atticus said. "He was muttering something about Jaden and a fiancé."

"Uh... I know nothing about Zane muttering things." I said. "He's always been completely collected around me."

"You're a pretyt bad liar, kid." Atticus said. "You have questions about fiancés and you don't come asking me? C'mon. Lay it on your ol' Uncey Atti."

"Uncey Atti?" I asked.

"Well, if you weren't friends with my sister, I might say big brother." Atticus laughed.

"So, you know what fiancé means?" I asked.

"Of course." Atticus said. "Doesn't everybody?" Is this like "Mommy" and "Daddy"? Is it something everyone learns to say when they're young?!

"I was named someone's fiancé a while back." I explained. "You mind cutting the jokes and telling me?"

"It means you and this lucky girl are engaged." Atticus explained.

"Like, in a duel?" I asked.

"No, like, to be married." Atticus said, correcting me. "But, I suppose finding your one true love is like a duel, in many ways. You-"

"Alexis and I are gonna get married?!" I shouted in shock.

"Alexis?" Atticus asked. "You mean my baby sister?"

Well, I'm dead.

'Well, I'm dead.' I thought to myself. Quit copying me, Past Me!

"BROTHER!" Atticus said, embracing me. "You need to stop by over vacation! I'll introduce you to the family!"

"But aren't you suppose to be helping Chazz?" I asked.

"You have a point." Atticus said, releasing me and biting his nail. "Chazz came to me for help. But if you were named Alexis' fiancé, then there's no helping it."

I never did tell Alexis I found out what it meant, and I made Atticus swear to never tell her he told me. What? I have ways of being persuasive.

* * *

Back to my duel with Alexis. I blushed, but looking at Alexis, there were no changes to her emotions, or lack thereof.

"Huh?" Atticus muttered. "That always makes her explode in anger."

Alexis and I both drew until we had six cards in our hands. And as Alexis drew her cards, while not showing any emotions, I could tell by her subtle body movements it wasn't something beneficial to me. Yeah, I can read subtle body movements during duels. It has nothing to do with Alexis. Nope.

"I play Monster Reborn." Alexis said. "I summon Cyber Tutu back to the field."

Oh, come on, Lex! Where's all the telling me all the effects, even though I know them all! That's what dueling is all about!

Anyway, Cyber Tutu appeared back on Alexis' field, in all her grace and splendor. ...What? I'm trying to make this sound cooler. Alexis wasn't hamming it up, like you should! So I have to.

"I play Shien's Spy." Alexis said.

"Shien's Spy?" I asked.

"That's a nasty card." Sartorious said from the stands. Well, at least HE was willing to do the whole bit. "It allows the player to put one of their monsters on the opponent's field."

"I target Cyber Tutu with Shien's Spy." Alexis said.

Cyber Tutu disappeared from Alexis' field, and reappeared on my field, shocked.

"How easy it really is." Sartorious said. "Sending one little spy to the opponent's side. That person then opens up to the spy, giving them their complete trust, only to be baited into a trap."

And suddenly, it seemed like Sartorious wasn't just talking about the duel.

"Oh, shoot." I said.

Remember when I said Cyber Blader's effect is based on the number of monsters the opponent has on the field? Well, since Alexis put another monster on my field, I now had two again, and Blader's attack points were doubled. This meant Cyber Blader was stronger than either of my monsters, and could wipe either one out, along with my Life Points. Its... actually a clever strategy, if it wasn't being used for EVIL!

"I attack Cyber Tutu with Cyber Blader." Alexis said.

"I activate Hallowed Life Barrier!" I cried out.

"But that's Alexis' card!" I heard Syrus say in the crowd.

Okay, guess I should explain.

* * *

See, when Alexis and I were getting ready to leave her old dorm when we heard Syrus and Hassleberry yelling for me, we quickly scrambled to grab all our cards. However, as she ran out, one of Alexis' cards dropped on the floor.

"Oh, hey, Lex, wait!" I said. Looking back, a very frantic sentence, for a very frantic situation.

"What is it?" Alexis asked.

"You dropped a card." I said.

"I'm adding some cards to my deck for the duel." Alexis said. "I won't be needing it."

Alexis headed out before me, so I picked up the card. Of course it was Hallowed Life Barrier.

I figured Alexis probably dropped it purposely, while trying to make it look accidental. After all, this IS a very useful card. And even if she didn't do it on purpose, adding this to my deck might be a good way to reach out to Alexis. So I added the card to my deck.

* * *

"I discard one card from my hand and your attack does no damage!" I yelled.

"I know that." Alexis said. "That is my card." YES! A reaction!

'Yes!' I thought. 'A reaction!' Hey! I just said that!

"I end my turn." Alexis said.

"I play Neo Space!" I yelled, placing Neo Space in the field card zone.

Suddenly, my favorite outer space... place appeared around us.

"This raises Neos' Attack Points by 500!" I yelled. "Now, I attack Cyber Blader with Neos!"

Neos chopped Blader, dropping Alexis' Life Points to 1200. Unfortunately, because of Cyber Blader's effect, when there's only one monster on the opponent's field, she can't be destroyed by battle. Darn it!

"I play Monster Reborn!" I said. "This allows me to summon Burstinatrix back to the field!"

Burstinatrix appeared back on the field.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

"Just give it up, Slacker!" Chazz yelled out. "You can't beat Alexis!"

"Be quiet." Sartorious hissed at Chazz, before chuckling. "He is right though. Because you've summoned your Burstinatrix, Cyber Blader's attack points are doubled again. I can assure you that your trap card won't negate the next attack. With Mystical Space Typhoon in hand, that face-down trap won't work. Fighting the Society is useless. We can just bring her back to us after this duel."

Y'know, he had a point. Even if I did beat Alexis, she could end up joining again because Chazz could beat her. Or any number of the members of the Society. If I joined the Society, we'd almost certainly be together forever.

But I reject that! There's more than just two options to these kinda things.

"Yoohoo!" Atticus cried out.

Both Alexis and I turned our attention to Atticus. He happened to be holding up a picture. A picture Alexis and I kinda recognized.

* * *

It was the previous year's Duel Monster Spirit Day. Syrus had run off to go tell Chumley how he had gotten his first kiss, from the REAL Dark Magician Girl. I wanted those two crazy kids to get together.

Anyway, I hung around the festivities a bit before heading home for my room, when someone called out to me.

"Hey, Jaden, wait up!" Alexis called.

I stopped where I was, quickly smiled, hid that smile and turned around.

"Lex, what's up?" I asked.

"You forgot this." Alexis said, tossing me the hat I wore as part of my costume.

"Thanks." I said, chuckling as I placed the hat on my head. "So, what'd ya think of my duel?"

"I have to say, I'm really impressed." Alexis said. "You really could take on the King of Games, Yugi Muto."

Fact: It was Duel Academy Policy that you had to called him "The King of Games, Yugi Muto". ...Okay, I'm lying. But it was a big thing, I assure you!

"You know it!" I said, smirking.

"Where'd that girl go anyway?" Alexis asked. "I wanted my chance to duel her."

"No clue." I said, knowing Alexis wasn't as tight with spirits as I was. "I guess we'll just need to wait until next year."

Syrus made us all wear the same costumes for both my second and third years at Duel Academy, so that the Dark Magician Girl would recognize us. I am not even kidding. But that's a story for another time.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Alexis said.

Protip for any girls out there. Don't dress as Harpie Lady. At least, don't go all the way and have the feet. Because Alexis ended up toppling towards the ground.

Thankfully, yours truly caught her in time. But then it was just awkward. The two of us stared at each other in shock. Alexis eventually stood up and dusted herself off.

"Th-Thanks for the save." Alexis said, blushing.

"Y-Yeah, don't mention it." I said.

"Well, see ya." Alexis said, walking back to the girl's dorm.

"Later." I said, walking off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Why is this important? Well, despite Alexis and I never telling anyone about this, Atticus was now holding a picture of me holding Alexis in my arms. All for the whole crowd to see!

"Look at these two lovers!" Atticus said, laughing. "You would really try to keep them apart?"

"SHUT UP!" Alexis and I yelled.

Then I took a double take. That's the right usage of that phrase, right? For when you look at someone twice? Did Alexis just yell at Atticus with me?

"WHAT?!" Sartorious yelled, glaring at Atticus.

Atticus just sat back down, a satisfied smirk on his face. Way to go, Big Bro!

I'm gonna go ahead and admit it. Despite the public embarrassment, that was awesome. I never saw Sartorious lose his cool like that!

So, as Sartorious tried to get his control over Alexis back, she turned her attention to me.

"Don't think this is over, Jaden!" Alexis said. "It's my turn! Now, Cyber Blader! Attack Burstinatrix!"

"Not so fast, Alexis!" I said, as my face-down turned face-up. "I activate Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai! This card allows me to tribute one Fire Attribute monster and deal my opponent damage equal to that monster's attack points!"

Burstinatrix turned into a flame and flew across the field, hitting Alexis' Duel Disk. And with that, her Life Points dropped to 0!

"That's game!" I said, going my victory pose.

Alexis dropped to her knees. I ran over out of concern, as the rest of the gang got out of the bleachers and ran towards the Arena too.

"Lex, you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah..." Alexis said, holding her head. "Thanks to you."

I sighed in relief. However, that relief didn't last long. My attention turned to Sartorious as he, and the other Society Members left the Arena. Sartorious' gaze met my glare.

If I wanted to keep Alexis from ending up back in the Society of Light, and pull everyone else out, I'd need to duel the head honcho himself.

Oh, yeah. Things were far from done!

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter was a combination of Chapters 7 and 8 from the original, rather than 7-9, but 9 will be combined with 10-12, no worries. Actually, I'm pretty proud of how I incorporated the flashbacks and expanded them here. Oh, and once again, thanks for the reviews and favorites.


	4. Duel of Destiny

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

* * *

After my duel with Alexis, she was exhausted. Yeah. Seems being freed from mind control does that to a person. I wouldn't know personally, but I figure it makes sense. Your brain controls your body, so having control of it taken away and then suddenly given back is kinda like when you get up too fast and your heads like WHOOSH! Spinning!

...So, as I was saying, we took Alexis to the nurse's office. Nurse Fontaine said that Alexis just needed a little rest. I was just hoping it wouldn't take as long as it took Atticus to get back up after he was freed from the Shadow Riders.

Knowing how these things tend to go, especially after the Amnael crisis, we all offered to take watch. So, we split things up pretty evenly. And by that, I mean that I quickly volunteered to take day shift to skip out on class! But I was genuinely worried about Lex too. But, c'mon. Someone needed to do it during school hours, and who else had the time? Crowler? HA! Good joke.

After like, three days, I was walking in to take morning duty while Atticus went to class. He insisted on taking night shift. However, when I got there, Alexis was walking out of her bed, with Atticus desperately trying to hold her back.

"Come on, Lexi!" Atticus cried. "You're not ready to go out and duel yet!"

"Let me go!" Alexis shouted. "If the others are out fighting back against the Society, I have to too."

Have to too... Sounds good, doesn't look good when you read it, does it? Anyway!

"I have to make up for my time in the Society!" Alexis yelled.

"Fighting back against the Society?" I asked.

Alexis and Atticus finally turned their attention to me.

"Nah." I chuckled. "Those losers have been quiet the past few days."

"Ah, good." Atticus said. "Jaden, talk some sense into her. You know how girls are at this age. Suddenly big brother means nothing! But her boyfriend should be able to talk her back into bed."

"I am not her boyfriend!" I yelled.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Alexis yelled at the same time.

"Anyway, Jaden, I leave my little sister in your capable hands." Atticus said, pushing Alexis into my arms. "Don't use them for anything I wouldn't."

Alexis and I both just blushed as Atticus walked out.

"S-So..." I said, breaking the awkward silence that followed. "Yeah... None of us have been going after the Society since I beat you."

"Who cares?!" Alexis said, pushing away from me and trying to head out again. "Do you know how many people I converted during my time in that group? I have to make up for it."

"If you make up for it while you're still exhausted, I'll just end up saving you again." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?! You think you could beat me again?!" Alexis said, holding me by the shoulders. Man, she's hot when she's intimidating like that.

"C-Calm down, Lex!" I said, chuckling nervously. "Come on, I did beat you and bring you back from the Society. Don't you think you owe me a solid? I was given the day off from class because the faculty expects me to watch you. If you go to class and I don't, or if you go out and butt heads with a few Society members while I sit here watching an empty bed, someone's gonna realize I don't need to cut class anymore."

"Then you'll just have to come with me." Alexis said, grabbing my arm.

"I'm staying here." I said, pulling my arm out of her grasp and sitting down in a chair. "I haven't been getting too much sleep lately, so taking a load off my legs helps."

"Well, I guess if you don't plan to go, I can't just let you get detention." Alexis said, sighing.

Alexis got back in the hospital bed and looked at me.

"So, why haven't you been getting sleep lately?" Alexis asked.

This was the first day when Alexis was really awake. Just like her brother, there were times when she was in and out of consciousness, but she seemed to be doing really good now.

"I've been staying here and making sure Chazz doesn't come in and stab you or something." I said. "Or worse! You could have the disgrace of losing to him again!"

That one earned me one of Alexis' cute chuckles. ...You heard nothing!

"Well, that explains why you haven't gotten much sleep." Alexis said. "No more naps during class?"

"Waking up early!" I shouted. "Who gets up at 6 AM?"

Alexis and I just sat there for a bit after that. Then... the inevitable question popped up.

"So, how did Atticus know we were fiancés?" Alexis asked.

"Oh, about that..." I said. Look, I explained it before. I'm not repeating everything again. Why tell someone the same story twice?

"I made him promise not to tell you I told him." I said, finishing my recap of events.

"So you're the reason why Zane nearly drowned in the lake that one night?" Alexis asked, shocked.

"He what?!" I asked, eyes widened.

Alexis just laughed. Darn that girl! First she makes me think I nearly killed a guy, then she does that cute laugh! How can I stay mad at her? ...What? You expect some outburst? I didn't say anything weird. And if you think I did, it must be your own imagination. Yes. That's it.

"Anyway, I've been waiting for the right moment to bring it up, but there hasn't really been much time to do it. I mean, I learned it before the end of last year, and then the new school year started, and I dueled Aster, and you got a new room, and I couldn't see my cards, and I was in space, then I was wandering the island, then the Society happened... I haven't had the time to talk to you about it, sorry." I said, in one breath.

"It's fine, Jaden." Alexis said with a smile on her face. Yeah, she was sincere. SAFE!

"Well, now that you know, there's another thing we need to talk about." I said. "See, how would you feel about calling it off?"

Alexis just looked at me, confused.

"I mean, it's not that you're not my type, I mean, not to say you ARE my type, but it's just..." I said quickly, trying not to let Alexis know I had feelings for her. Yeah, I was so smooth... "What I mean is, even if you and I WERE like that, I wouldn't feel right being named your future husband from a duel, y'know?"

"Yeah, I got that, Jaden." Alexis said. "I just didn't know you actually thought I intended to follow through on it either."

"Oh, right." I said, chuckling while blushing. Man, this was hard.

"Still, I can't believe Atticus, showing the whole school that picture!" Alexis said. "It's bad enough he was even hiding in the bushes to take that picture, but then to show it to everyone."

"Hey, give the voyeur some credit." I said. ...Yes, it was me! I do learn words like voyeur and stuff! And that "stuff" isn't to imply I learned the word stuff at the same time as I learned voyeur!

...Where was I? Oh, right!

"He's actually the reason I won that duel." I said.

"Don't give him that much credit, Jaden." Alexis said. "If Sartorius continued to have a hold on me, I'd still have lost, probably faster."

"Not what I mean." I said, holding up that Kurenai card. "Your bro gave this to me."

Ah, I remember it now.

* * *

"Here." Atticus said, holding out a card to me.

"Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai?" I asked, looking at the card.

"If you're dueling my sister, you should go ahead and put that card in your deck." Atticus said. "Let it show her your hot, passionate feelings of love!"

* * *

"I can't believe him!" Alexis said, curling her hand into a fist.

"I wasn't gonna buy into his 'show feelings through cards' thing either, but I do have Fire monsters, and a few good points of damage never hurt." I explained.

"Don't let him get to you." Alexis said. "My brother's been more obsessed with my love life ever since this year's School Duel."

"Huh?" I asked.

"He was talking to some students from West Academy when they came by this year." Alexis explained.

Oh, yeah. I had heard there was something going on at North Academy that kept their top student from being sent to the School Duel that year, so their headmaster called in a favor to West Academy to represent his school instead.

"He said he heard one of the girls at another one of the Academy's became an idol after dating the best duelist in her class that year." Alexis said. "After that, he became more determined to set me up with someone."

"Well, I'm flattered." I said.

"That he wants us to get together?" Alexis asked.

Realizing what I said, I went to the second reason. "Nah, because your brother must think I'm top student at the school! Your brother! Zane's rival!"

"Of their class that year." Alexis said, chuckling. "Zane isn't here anymore. Besides, who would want their sister to go out with him now?"

"Right." I said. "Need to get on bringing Zane to his senses after I take Sartorius down. I'll schedule him in for later this week."

"What?!" Alexis asked, realizing the little secret I let slip. Do ya see it? No? Let's let Alexis explain. "Do you mean you plan on dueling Sartorius this week?"

"Tonight, midnight." I explained. "Aster and I are gonna tag duel him, like we did his sister. Hassleberry already has a plan to take down his guards."

"Does it involve stealing his tarot cards?" Alexis said, a sarcastic smile across her face.

"Maybe..." I said.

"Jaden, you know what you're doing, right?" Alexis asked.

"Oh, yeah." I said. "I've been planning for days."

"Days?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Ever since I beat you. His little speech about how he could take you back by winning made me realize how easily he could take over the world. I can't slack off now, Lex. I'm taking him down!"

"But what if he takes your ability to see your cards again?" Alexis asked.

"Oh, like Neos will let that happen." I said. "I'm not gonna let him take the cards or the girl I care about most away from me again!"

And that was that.

Yeah, you heard right. That was all. I didn't realize what I had said there. And Alexis was quiet for the rest of the time I was watching her. I assumed she was getting some sleep. The only thing she said to me after that was a quiet "See ya". Hey! Loser! You just admitted to the hottest girl in the world that you care about her more than any other! Either be upfront about it, or cover yourself up! Man, I was stupid!

* * *

So, midnight rolls around. ...Okay, 11:35. But midnight sounds better. I waited outside the Slifer dorm for Aster, and, thankfully, he walked up. Wow, I thought maybe he wouldn't show, or something.

"Alright, Aster, you ready to get your game on?" I asked.

"Sorry, Jaden." Aster said. "But we'll have to postpone the plans."

"What?!" I asked.

"Something came up." Aster explained. "You remember that card that was stolen the day my father disappeared?"

"A'yup!" I said.

"I've gotten a lead on it." Aster said. "I'm going to go get the Ultimate Destiny Hero. Then I'll be able to challenge Sartorius on my own."

...ALWAYS SOMETHING! ALWAYS!

Then Aster just blew me off! Went to his jet and just left me behind! Well, fine! You don't get to have all the fun! I'm dueling Sartorius, and if I lose, then you can have your chance, buddy!

"Jaden!"

"Sarge!"

Syrus and Hassleberry ran out of our room and up to me.

"I've secured the... bait." Hassleberry said, holding up a brown paper bag.

"Hey, where's Aster?" Syrus asked, looking around.

"Dude ditched us!" I yelled. "Who does that?!"

"Uh, Jay, need I remind you of when you took that boat and left us all?" Syrus asked.

I just stared at Syrus for a second.

"Alright, guys!" I said, sounding as heroic as possible. "Let's go stop that maniac!"

* * *

So, Syrus, Hassleberry and I mounted a massive assault on the White Dorm, taking down all the members of the Society of Light, fighting our way to the Duel Arena and... Okay, Aster managed to talk Crowler into giving us a spare pair of keys. ...Yeah. The mounted assault was our original plan until Aster butted in!

"Alright, Sartorius! Come out and get your drawers!" I said as my group entered the center of the former Blue Dorm.

Look, I never said I was proud of this plan... but it was hilarious!

"I think you'll find my dresser is complete." A voice came from the floor above us.

Have you ever looked up and just seen a spider coming down above you? Freaky, isn't it? Now try looking up and seeing all of the Obelisk White students glaring down at you. YEAH! I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that.

"Well, that was fast." I said.

"Guess we won't be needing the bait anymore." Hassleberry said, tossing the, in actuality empty, bag over his shoulder.

Sartorius made his way down the stairs, shaking his head mockingly.

"Honestly, you expected to pull a surprise attack on the fortune-teller?" Sartorius asked.

Okay, when you put it like that, I guess there IS a bit of a hole in the plan.

"And yet you still all came out just to see little ol' me." I said, smirking. "How nice of you."

"Nice has nothing to do with it." Sartorius said, standing across from me. "The wielder of the Gentle Darkness with the ability to defy destiny has presented himself before me. I presume for a duel?"

"Got that right!" I said, as I held up my Duel Disk.

"Master!" Chazz shouted, tossing a Duel Disk to Sartorius.

Sartorius caught the thing without even looking. Show off!

"I heard Aster is off dueling my other half." Sartorius said, strapping on his Duel Disk.

"You have a wife, huh?" I asked. "That's news to me. Who'd have guessed someone could fall for you?"

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Sartorius said. "But that isn't what I meant."

Now, see, this is what I live for! The trash talk before the duel! Okay, this would definitely be fun, compared to the duel with Alexis! Still, something seemed different about Sartorius this time.

"Duel!" We both shouted, as we activated our Duel Disks.

"Duel!" Came a voice from behind us.

Sartorius showed mild shock. I looked back, only to find Syrus, Hassleberry and a frantic Atticus. Wait, Atticus? I looked to my left and saw Alexis standing next to me, Duel Disk activated.

"I tried to stop her!" Atticus called out. "She won't listen to me!"

"Alexis, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I can't just let you do this on your own, Jaden." Alexis said. "I still need to make up for my time in the Society. Besides, with Aster gone, don't you need help?"

"Well, I never need less than my friend's moral support, but if you're up for this, go ahead." I said.

"You're not gonna stop her?!" Atticus called out, shocked.

Look, normally, I would. But I could tell Alexis needed to do this. Besides, who was I to stop someone from fixing their mistake? It's because I was in space that the Society started up anyway.

"Sure." I said. "Why not? After all, Alexis and I are the best team ever."

"Hey!" I heard Syrus scream from behind me. Sy, you gotta learn how to pull off the trash talk.

"Two-on-one, huh?" Sartorius asked. "I'm fine with it, as long as you don't complain that I only won because I had an additional 4000 Life Points."

"Go right on ahead." Alexis said.

"One of you can go first." Sartorius said, as we all drew our starting hand.

"You mind if I start us off, Lex?" I asked.

"Go right on ahead." Alexis said.

I drew a card from my deck.

"I summon Clayman in Defense Mode!" I called out, as Clayman appeared before me. "I end my turn!"

"My turn." Sartorius said, drawing a card from his deck. "I'll summon Arcana Force 0 - The Fool, in Attack Mode."

Some... weird alien thing with snake-like hair appeared in front of us. Above it, the card itself appeared, turning around.

"As you have experienced in the past, when an Arcana Force monster is summoned, one of two effects activate." Sartorius explained. "It is up to destiny to decide."

The card continued to turn until it ended upside down. From experience, this was usually the worse of the two effects.

"When in the Reverse Position, the Fool can not be effected by my opponent's card effects." Sartorius explained. "As his own effect allows him to remain standing through any battle, you will have a hard time removing it."

"So what?" I asked with a chuckle. "Your monster doesn't have any Attack Points."

"That may be." Sartorius said. "However, the duel between the two of you gave me an idea. I activate Creature Swap!"

Y'uh oh.

"This card causes us to trade one of our monsters." Sartorius said. "While my opponent's cards can't target The Fool, I can target him with my own cards."

"And since I only have one monster..." I muttered.

Clayman and The Fool swapped places on the field.

"I'll switch Clayman into Attack Position and attack Arcana Force 0 - The Fool!" Sartorius called out.

Clayman attacked The Fool, who wasn't destroyed, as my Life Points dropped to 3200.

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Sartorius said, a card appearing between him and Clayman.

"My turn!" Alexis said, drawing a card.

"I activate my face-down card." Sartorius said, as his card turned face-up. "Tour of Doom! This continuous trap card allows destiny to decide whether or not you can summon a monster. Depending on the position of the card, either you are forbidden to summon this turn, or I am forbidden from summoning on my next turn."

"Ha!" Alexis said, as the card started turning. "Leaving it up to chance like this?"

"There is no chance." Sartorius said. "Arcana Force 0 - The Fool allows his opponent to choose which side it lands on."

"What?!" I said, glaring at the monster.

"So you took Jaden's monster, gave him one that can't be destroyed and allows you to choose which way your cards land?!" Alexis yelled. She's so pretty when she defends me. ...I mean... YOU HEARD NOTHING!

"Of course, I'll choose for you to not summon." Sartorius said, with a smirk.

"I'll end my turn by setting a card." Alexis said.

"My turn." Sartorius said, drawing a card from his deck. "I sacrifice your Clayman to summon Arcana Force VIII - Strength."

Strength appeared on Sartorius' field, and the card above him landed in Reverse Position.

"Why Reverse?" Hassleberry asked. "When he used this card against me, the Upright Position allowed him to take a monster."

"Probably because the only monster Jaden and Alexis have is The Fool." Syrus explained. "Sure, under most circumstances, Strength's Reverse effect would be the worse, since it forces you to give your opponent another monster, by Strength can't be given with it's own effect."

"Now, I'll attack The Fool with Arcana Force VIII - Strength!" Sartorius cried out.

Again, The Fool was attacked, wasn't destroyed and my life points dropped by 1800. Now I only had 1600.

"I'll end my-" Sartorius started, before being cut off.

"I activate Dust Tornado!" Alexis called out. "I'll destroy Tour of Doom!"

Tour of Doom shattered, as Sartorius grunted.

"I'll end my turn." Sartorius said.

"I'll summon Card Blocker, and end my turn!" I shouted, as a small warrior with a shield appeared before me.

Sartorius drew a card from his deck, then glared at The Fool. ...The card. Why would you think he was glaring at me?

"Arcana Force VIII - Strength, attack Arcana Force 0 - The Fool!" Sartorius ordered, an aura of evil appearing around him. No, like, seriously. His hair started to stand up and everything!

"I activate Card Blocker's effect!" I shouted. "When one of my monsters is attacked, I can change the target to Blocker!"

"So you protected your Life Points." Sartorius said, a growl entering his voice. Wait, what's going on with this guy? "With 400 Defense Points, your monster will still be destroyed."

"Afraid not." I said. "See, I can send up to three cards from my deck to the graveyard, and then raise Blocker's Defense Points by 500 for each of them."

I sent the top three cards from my deck to the graveyard. Strength went to attack The Fool, but got card block'd by Blocker. Good night everybody. Sartorius' Life Points fell to 7900.

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Sartorius said.

"I summon Cyber Tutu!" Alexis said, as Cyber Tutu appeared before her. "Now, with her effect, I'll attack you directly."

Tutu danced past Sartorius' monster and struck him with a spinning kick, taking Sartorius' Life Points to 6900.

"I'll end my turn with one face-down." Alexis said.

Sartorius drew a card, then smirked. "I'll sacrifice Arcana Force VIII to summon Arcana Force XIV - Temperance, in Attack Mode!"

Another weird alien creature appeared where Strength once stood, with 2400 Attack Points.

"When in Upright Position, it allows me to cut all battle damage I would take in half." Sartorius explained. "Now, I'll attack Cyber Tutu."

"I activate Doble Passe!" Alexis called out, her trap turning face-up.

Temperance and Tutu passed each other and hit their opponent. Sartorius' points dropped to 6400, while Alexis' dropped to 1600.

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Sartorius said.

"My turn!" I said, pulling a card from my deck. "I'll sacrifice Blocker and The Fool to summon Neos!"

Both The Fool and Blocker disappeared and Neos appeared in their place.

"Yes!" Syrus cheered. "Now Jaden's got his best monster out!"

"Not only that, but the effects of those Arcana monsters can't be chosen anymore!" Hassleberry said.

"I attack Temperance with Neos!" I called out.

Neos leapt forward and destroyed Temperance with a Wrath of Neos Chop, taking Sartorius' Life Points down to 6300!

"And with that, I'll end my turn." I said.

"I'll summon Arcana Force IV - The Emperor in Attack Mode!" Sartorius said, as a mechanical alien thing appeared before us. Ah, mixing it up now, huh?

The card appeared above the monster, and rotated until it landed in Upright Position.

"When The Emperor is in Upright Position, all Arcana Force monsters gain 500 Attack Points." Sartorius explained.

Great, Emperor now had 1900 Attack Points. So what? Neos had 2500! ...But Cyber Tutu only had 1000.

"I attack Cyber Tutu with Arcana Force IV - The Emperor!" Sartorius called out.

One of the... mechanical... bits... Look, Arcana cards look weird. Anyway, one of the bits attacked Cyber Tutu, shattering her and taking Lex's Life Points down to 700. Things weren't looking good for Alexis.

"I end my turn." Sartorius said.

"My turn!" Alexis called as she drew a card from her deck. "I summon Cyber Petit Angel to the field! This allows me to bring one Machine Angel Ritual spell card from my deck to my hand! Then I'll activate that card, sacrificing the Cyber Petit Angel on the field and the Mind on Air in my hand to summon Cyber Angel - Dakini."

Mind on Air appeared next to Angel, and both disappeared, with Dakini now standing on Alexis' field.

"When Dakini is summoned, my opponent has to select one monster on their field and destroy it!" Alexis said. "And since you only have one monster..."

Dude, did Alexis just weaponize irony against Sartorius?

Anyway, Emperor exploded.

"Now, Cyber Angel - Dakini, attack Sartorius directly!" Alexis called out.

And thanks to that direct attack, Sartorius' Life Points dropped to 3600. Alright! All we'd have to do is make it to my next turn, and we could possibly win this! But things never go that easily, do they?

"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." Alexis said.

Sartorius smirked evilly as he drew his next card. Then... Well, no other way to explain it. His aura seemed to overtake him. His hair was literally standing up! Like... the back was lifting up from the wind he was generating, I kid you not.

"I'll set one card face-down myself." Sartorius said. "Next, I activate Selection of Fate! This card allows my opponent to select one card in my hand, and if it is a monster, I can special summon it."

"Well, Lex, you went last, you get the honors." I said.

"That one!" Alexis said, pointing to one of the cards in Sartorius' hand. Which one? Uh... Look, I can't remember every little detail. Work with me here.

"Arcana Force VI - The Lovers!" Sartorius called out, as another weird monster appeared on his field. "As expected. Now, this is where your destiny is determined. When in Upright Position, Arcana Force VI allows me to sacrifice it as two monsters for the Tribute Summoning of an Arcana Force monster. When Reversed, I can not Tribute Summon any Arcana Force monster."

The card rotated over Sartorius' head. Eventually, when it stopped, it was in Upright Position. DARN IT! Always what benefits him!

"Next, I activate the card I played face-down at the start of this turn." Sartorius said, his white aura growing larger and larger. "Reverse Reborn! This allows me to summon one Arcana Force monster from my graveyard. It does, however, force it in Reverse Position. Come back, Arcana Force IV - The Emperor!"

Emperor rose again, next to The Lovers.

"Why would he do that?" Alexis muttered. "That'll lower the Attack Points of all his monsters by 500."

"They won't be around for long!" Sartorius called, his aura now forming a face above him and speaking in unison with him. "I'll sacrifice Arcana Force IV - The Emperor and Arcana Force VI - The Lovers to summon Arcana Force EX - The Dark Ruler!"

A LARGE mechanical monster with two dragon heads coming out of the side of it appeared one Sartorius' field.

Wait, isn't Sartorius all about Light? Well, I guess it's like when you stick your foot in the bathtub to check the temp, and it's burning hot, but for that single second, everything feels cold before the burning happens. In this case, a bit of darkness before everything reverts to white nothingness.

Anyway, the card appeared above the aura and began rotating. Eventually, it landed on Upright. Man, couldn't he just flip a coin? It'd be less of a hassle.

"When in Upright Position, The Dark Ruler can attack twice in a turn!" Sartorius and the aura yelled out. "Now, The Dark Ruler! DESTROY THE MONSTERS OF THE FOOLS WHO DARE STAND AGAINST THE LIGHT OF DESTRUCTION!"

The dragon heads shot blasts at Dakini and Neos. Oh, did I mention this thing had 4000 Attack Points? Yeah, that was inconvenient.

"I activate Hallowed Life Barrier!" Alexis called.

Alexis discarded a card from her hand, and a shield appeared around the two of us. Our monsters didn't make it out, but we were safe at least.

Sartorius growled. "When The Dark Ruler attacks twice, it switches to Defense Mode. I end my turn."

Alexis turned to me.

"Jaden, it's up to you." Alexis said, breathing heavily. "I probably won't have another turn, so I can't do anything else. You need to end it this turn."

"Right!" I said, nodding my head.

I drew a card from my deck. Monster Reborn! YES!

"I activate Monster Reborn!" I called out, as Neos appeared back on my field. "Next, I summon Neo Spacian - Grand Mole!"

Grand Mole appeared on my field, but he wouldn't be around for long.

"Now, I Contact Fuse Neos with Grand Mole to summon Elemental Hero Grand Neos!" I shouted.

Neos and Grand Mole warped together, with the end result being Neos with green armor, claws on one hand and a giant drill on the other.

"Now, I activate Grand Neos' effect!" I said. "I can send one monster on my opponent's field back to their hand! Neos! Do your thing!"

Neos leapt forward with his drill and was about to drill through The Dark Ruler.

"I activate my face-down! Reversal of Fate!" Sartorius yelled, as his face-down turned up and a roulette wheel appeared on his field. "This switches the Position of all my Arcana Force monsters!"

The card above The Dark Ruler turned to Reverse Position.

"When in Reverse Position, if The Dark Ruler is removed from the field, all other cards on the field are destroyed!" Sartorius yelled. "Then I can summon The Dark Ruler back to the field on my next turn!"

The Dark Ruler returned to Sartorius hand, and everything else, by which I mean Grand Neos, went and exploded, going to the graveyard.

"Too bad!" The aura above Sartorius seemed to laugh. "The Gentle Darkness failed in the end!"

"Not yet!" I called out. "I activate Reverse of Neos from my hand! This allows me to summon Elemental Hero Neos back from my graveyard with an additional 1000 points!"

Neos returned to my field, glaring at Sartorius as his Attack Points went up to 3500!

"That's not enough!" Sartorius cried. "100 Life Points will remain!"

"I don't think so!" I called, placing a card in the field spell zone. "Neo Space!"

Neos' Attack Points went up to 4000 points as Neo Space appeared around us all. Sartorius got visibly terrified.

"Neos, GO!" I cried.

Neos jumped into the air, powering up from the darkness of Neo Space.

"Light of Destruction, this is where it all ends for you!" Neos called, like the hero he is!

Neos flew down and karate chopped the white aura above Sartorius. As it cried in pain, Sartorius' Life Points depleted to 0.

As the holograms faded, the aura dissipated, but not before being as ominous as possible.

"Do not think this is over..." It said. "Just because the light has been conquered, this does not mean the darkness is free from judgment."

And with that, the light disappeared and Sartorius collapsed.

"I-Is he dead?" Syrus asked.

Atticus walked over and felt his pulse.

"He's still alive." Atticus said.

"Don't worry." I said, Neos' spirit appearing next to me. "The Light of Destruction has been wiped out. We won't need to worry about it anymore."

Yeah, Neos explained to me during the duel how Sartorius was possessed by an evil light from outer space, how it wanted to return everything to white, the usual stuff. I figured it didn't gel well with the rest of the flow of the duel, so I'm telling you now.

Looking up, it seemed like the Society members were all coming back from their brainwashing. All but seemingly one.

"NOOOOO!" Chazz shouted.

Chazz leapt down next to Sartorius.

"The Light isn't gone!" Chazz cried. "It has found a new host in me!"

Oh, this was pathetic.

"This is pathetic." I said.

"The Light knew how I wanted to defeat Jaden!" Chazz cried. "It chose me to be the next leader of the Society of Light!"

"Y-Yeah!" One of Chazz's goons said.

"Chazz is the new leader of the Society!" His other goon said.

"CHAZZ IT UP!" The two called out.

From there, some members of the Society just walked out, some stayed with Chazz to gain his favor. Honestly, it wasn't that many, and the Light of Destruction was definitely gone.

"Fine." I groaned, once all the former Society members split. "I'll duel you."

I went to activate my Duel Disk, but Chazz just wagged a finger in my face.

"Not here." Chazz said. "In Obelisk Arena, the backdrop for our first, and final, duels."

I had to admit, that sounded good.

"Sure." I said. "But once I win, all this Society nonsense ends."

"And when I win..." Chazz started, putting emphasis on the word "I". "...you have to leave this school and Alexis will become my girlfriend."

"What?!" I yelled. "Look, I'm all up for my part of the agreement, but Alexis has nothing to do with this!"

"Jaden, if it'll shut him up, I'll agree to that." Alexis said.

"What?" I asked. "But Lex..."

"Besides, I know you can beat him." Alexis said, smiling. Ah... so cute... Shut it.

"Perfect." Chazz chuckled. "But just so you don't skip out on the duel, there WILL be a time limit. If you're more than an hour late after class today, you'll be disqualified."

"Deal!" Me and Chazz yelled at the same time.

* * *

Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis and I left the once-again Blue dorm.

"Whew." I sighed in relief. "Thanks for that back there, Lex. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been able to summon any monsters that whole duel. Plus, you kept us from losing thanks to Hallowed Life Barrier."

"Huh?" Hassleberry said, confused. "But the Sarge still would have had Life Points if the Dark Ruler's attack went through."

Syrus just shook his head. "Now, now, Hassleberry. Let's give the two lovebirds time alone." You're getting a big head there, Sy, just because you had your first kiss.

Syrus did his best to push Hassleberry away, which was easier once Hassleberry gave in and began walking off, as Alexis and I blushed.

"We're not lovebirds!" We both called out.

"Anyway, you really were a great help back there, Lex." I said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh, I'm sure you could have." Alexis said. "Just like I'm sure you'll beat Chazz."

"Right." I said with a chuckle. "Still, I won't be able to make it to the duel if I'm sleeping through it."

"Yeah, we should get back." Alexis agreed.

The two of us made our way back to the Slifer Dorm in complete silence.

* * *

Once we reached our separate rooms, we looked to each other.

"Night." I said with a wave.

"Night." Alexis said back, with a hint of hesitation in her voice.

_'Weird. Did Alexis wanted to say something else?'_ I thought to myself as I closed the door.

I brushed off the thought and just went to bed.

* * *

The next day, I was awoken quite suddenly. I like that phrase.

Anyway, I heard a knock on my door and sluggishly made my way out of bed and over to the door. Opening it, I found Bonaparte, the Vice Chancellor, standing there. It occurs to me this was the first time I saw him since realizing my feelings for Lex.

"Jaden, how've you been?" Bonaparte called, faking being cheerful.

"What do you want?" I asked. I was up late dueling Sartorius and I'd been losing sleep lately. I wasn't in the mood for fake cheerfulness.

"Crowler and I heard how you've beaten Sartorius and settled this thing with the White Dorm."

"How?" I asked.

"Atticus brought Sartorius to Nurse Fontaine last night." Bonaparte explained. "He told us the whole story. We know about your duel with Chazz today."

"Look, if this is about how we're betting..." I started.

"Oh, don't you worry." Bonaparte said. "We won't fault you for that. Honestly, this whole thing with students going from their assigned dorms to a fake dorm is more of a hassle for us than it is for you."

"I doubt that..." I muttered, yawning again.

"If this duel with Chazz Princeton is all it will take to end everything, we'll gladly help in any way we can." Bonaparte said. "That's why Crowler's sent me here. He wants to go over some strategies with you."

"Crowler? Help me?" I said, before turning around. "Jaden go bed so he can wake up now."

"This isn't a dream!" Bonaparte cried out.

"Yeah, it's a nightmare." I joked, walking back to the door.

"Just follow me to the forest." Bonaparte said.

"The forest?" I asked. "Why?"

"Crowler said something about not wanting to be seen helping a Slifer Slacker like you in public, and if we're seen in the forest, he can write it off as catching you trespassing." Bonaparte explained.

_'Yep, that sounds like Crowler.'_ I snarked to myself.

"Alright, let's go." I said, stepping out and closing my door behind me.

* * *

Bonaparte and I made our way to the forest. The whole time, he was grilling me about how I beat Sartorius. Yeah, I guess my awesomeness is so great, everyone wants to know how amazing my duels are.

"And that's how I beat Sartorius." I said. "Well, Lex and I."

"Well then..." Bonaparte, who was standing behind me, said. "...maybe you can dream about defeating him without the help of an Obelisk."

"Huh?" I muttered.

I heard Bonaparte grunting behind me, so I began to turn around to see what was happening. Then something hit the back of my head.

Mm... Nighty night...

I collapsed out the ground, faint.

* * *

When I woke back up, I found myself tied to a tree.

"What?!" I shouted.

Yeah, this story wasn't gonna end without one last hurdle to make it over.

* * *

Author's Note: Fun fact. I've been keeping tabs on how long the chapters are compared to their original counterparts. Most are around the same length as the original, usually like 100 words more or so. This chapter? Three times as long as the original four chapters this was based around. Yeah! Probably helps that I actually rewrote the duel. Also, as always, thanks for the reviews and faves.


	5. Resolving the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews and faves.

* * *

So, there I was, tied to a tree, having a lot of tree adventures. Yes, they were quite fun. I know you want to hear all about them. What? You're wondering how I ended up tied to a tree?

Simple. Vice Chancellor of Duel Academy, Bonaparte, knocked me on the back of the head, dragged my faint body to a tree and made sure to tie the rope tight.

I know everyone wants to hear my grand tree adventures, but this is the story of how I beat the Society of Light, so maybe the tree adventures can wait until next time.

* * *

Now, all the information you're about to hear, I picked up from my friends. I wasn't actually there, so I can't account for all of this being true, but what are the chances of all my friends lying about something?

The Obelisk Blue Arena was filled! On one side, the few remnants of the White Dorm who stuck with Chazz. On the other side, EVERY OTHER STUDENT! Okay, pretty sure that's Sy exaggerating. But most of my friends were there. Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastion, Alexis, Atticus, Jasmine and Mindy hanging on to him. Guess with Lex freed from the Society they didn't worry about much... Also, anyone else realize how small my group of friends seems in hindsight? I could have sworn there was more. Well, Aster, but he was still gone for whatever reason.

Oh! Crowler was there! Yeah! He's a friend, right? And apparently Bonaparte too... That snake!

Chazz was standing in the middle of the Arena. His two lackeys, I guess their names are Torimaki and Mototani, were standing next to him.

"Well, looks like that slacker won't be showing up." Chazz said.

"It's just after class." Hassleberry said. "How can he be so sure the Sarge won't be here."

"Weren't you paying attention in class?" Bastion asked. "Jaden didn't turn up at all."

"Where could Jay be?" Atticus said.

"Looks like he decided to leave the island on his own!" Chazz chuckled. "Poor little baby!" Oh, that's it, buddy! I am so decking you when I next see you!

"Jaden wouldn't run away." Alexis said. "But if he won't show..."

Okay, this next part, Syrus insists is true, but given how high up they were, I question the validity of. Alexis jumped from the bleachers on to the Duel Arena.

"...I'll duel you instead!" Alexis called out.

"I beat you once, I'll beat you again." Chazz said, smirkly vilely. Bastion's word, not mine. "Still, why don't we wait the remaining half hour, give Slacker the chance to show his face."

Alright, I don't know if it was actually half an hour at that time, because... tree adventures! But half an hour sounds better than "remaining probably 43 minutes".

"Where is that slacker?!" Crowler shouted.

"Yes, we can finally go back to the right number of dorms." Bonaparte said. You weasely worm!

"Bonaparte, did he say anything to you earlier?" Syrus asked, turning to look at Bonaparte.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Bonaparte asked.

"I saw you talking to him early this morning." Syrus said. "I was a little groggy, so I went back to sleep afterwards, but I heard something about going to the forest to talk strategies?"

"Yeah, y'said Crowler asked you to." Hassleberry said. Yeah, apparently both of them woke up during our conversation but did nothing. Thanks, guys...

"Bonaparte, is this true?" Crowler asked, glaring down at Bonaparte.

"Absolutely not!" Bonaparte said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Crowler gave Bonaparte a look, before standing up.

"Well, our students simply may be mistaken about what they heard." Crowler stated.

"Aw, come on, Doctor Crowler!" Syrus shouted.

"Ya have to make him talk!" Hassleberry shouted.

"Let me finish!" Crowler shouted. "However, we have students here claiming to have heard something about Jaden Yuki going to the forest this morning. It would be wrong of me, as the Chancellor, to not investigate this."

And with that, Crowler rushed off.

* * *

Back to me, I was having so much fun on my tree adventure.

"HELP!" I shouted. "SOMEONE! HELP! I AM STUCK TO A TREE! I'LL TRADE YOU A RARE CARD FOR HELP!"

...Shut up. I was desperate! Eventually, it occurred to me that I should probably only yell for help every few minutes. Y'know, with how much the gang and I cut class to go hang in the forest and do... whatever needs doing that particular day, it's always something, you'd think more people would be out here after class let out!

So, after waiting a few minutes from ruining my dueling voice more, and yes, I have a dueling voice, I decided enough time had passed and began calling for help again.

"Syrus!" I yelled. "Hassleberry! Lex! Bastion! Atticus! I will settle for Damon! Someone! Help!"

"Slacker! Is that you?!" I heard a familiar voice call out.

"Crowler!?" I shouted. "Show your stupid face so I can show you once and for all never to underestimate me!"

Crowler stepped out from between two bushes.

"That's a funny way to ask for help." Crowler said, then spotted the rope that kept me chained to the tree. "Especially in your state."

Crowler went around behind the tree and began untying the rope.

"Oh, yeah, right!" I shouted. "Like you didn't tell Bonaparte to take me out here, knock me out and keep me tethered to this tree!"

"What?" Crowler asked, genuinely shocked. "Do you really think I'd do something this inelegant?"

"So, wait, you didn't order Bonaparte to do this?" I asked.

"Of course not." Crowler said, as he finally broke the ropes and they fell to my feet. "If I still intended to kick you out, I'd do it in a way much more graceful."

Okay, I admit, Crowler and "graceful" aren't that compatible, but he did have a point. His plans were never this crude. Also, did he just admit to not wanting to kick me out of Duel Academy anymore?

"Aw, shoot!" I yelled. "There's no way I can run back to the Academy in time."

"Run?" Crowler asked. "Do you really think I walked all the way here?"

"Hm?" I muttered, looking at my teacher.

* * *

Sometime later, at Obelisk Arena, Chazz was staring at a watch.

"Well, looks like Slacker's time is almost up." Chazz said.

"I'm sure Jaden's still here." Alexis said. "But in the meantime, get ready to duel me, Chazz."

"Oh, honey, why would you ever want to duel your boyfriend?" Chazz asked.

"You are not my boyfriend." Alexis said.

"Not according to the deal we all made." Chazz said. "Slacker and I agreed that if HE loses, you'll become my girlfriend and he leaves the island. If Jaden doesn't show up in time, he forfeits. You beating me will mean nothing."

"Yeah, you tell her, Chazz." One of his goons said.

"Time's almost up." Chazz said.

That would be when I ran in.

"CHAAAAAAZZZZZ!" I yelled, running at my arch-rival, doing my best impression of a hero from one of those action shows. "Step away from the girl I love!"

Then I jumped on to the Dueling Field and punched Chazz across the face! YEAH!

...Okay, I made that up. Honestly, it sounds cooler than what actually happened.

"Wait a second..." I muttered as I stumbled into Obelisk Arena. "I'm here..."

"Jaden!" Alexis yelled, obviously happy to see me.

"Slacker?!" Chazz yelled in shock.

"Sarge, you're back!" Hassleberry yelled from the stands.

"Jaden... why do you look like you're gonna throw up?" Syrus asked.

"Oh, y'know, car ride..." I said, my head still swimming. Never get in a car with Crowler and let him drive. Just don't.

"How'd you get back here?" Chazz asked.

I shook the terrible feeling away for the time being. "What do you mean 'back here'?"

"Yeah, Chazz." Alexis said. "Shouldn't you be asking what took so long?"

"Uh..." Chazz froze up for a second, before smirking vilely. Thanks for the word, Bastion. "You guys make it seem like I asked someone to knock Jaden out and trap him in a forest or something, in exchange for using my family's money and power to demolish the Slifer Red Dorm."

...Yeah, not slick, Chazz. Honestly, I wasn't too shocked at this point. Still, I'd need to look in to getting Bonaparte fired as soon as Sheppard got back an- Oh, shoot! I never got around to that, did I?!

"There'll be time to discuss that later." I said. "Let's get our games on!"

I activated a Duel Disk I had grabbed on the way to the Arena. Chazz activated his own Duel Disk.

"Now!" Chazz shouted.

I suddenly heard Alexis gasp. Looking back, I saw one of Chazz's goons grab Alexis from behind, putting her in a hold, while the other held a knife to her throat.

"What are you doing?!" Alexis shouted, trying to free herself from the goon's grasp.

"Consider this insurance." Chazz said. "Every time I lose Life Points, that knife gets closer and closer to your throat. If I hit 0, that pretty voice won't be heard again."

I turned around and intended to help Alexis, but Chazz clicked his tongue.

"Leave the field and you forfeit the duel." Chazz said.

I turned around and sneered. This was a lose-lose scenario. I lose the duel? Chazz gets Alexis. I beat Chazz? Alexis gets her throat slit. Try to help Alexis? I forfeit the duel and Chazz gets Alexis. I knew Alexis shouldn't have agreed to his terms. I'd just have to make this look good.

"I'll go first!" Chazz said, drawing a card from his deck. "Here's a blast from the past for you, Slacker. I summon Reborn Zombie in Defense Mode, and I'll place a card face-down. Remind you of anything?"

Reborn Zombie appeared in front of Chazz, followed by a card appearing between the two of them.

"Yeah." I said, drawing a card from my deck. "Our first duel."

I looked at the card I drew. Winged Kuriboh. Just like back then. Winged Kuriboh appeared on my shoulder.

"Hey, Winged Kuriboh." I said. "Think we should go ahead and play along with Chazz's game?"

Winged Kuriboh nodded.

"Alright!" I said, holding up Polymerization. "I activate Polymerization! This allows me to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix to summon Flame Wingman!"

The monsters appeared before me, combined to Flame Wingman, yada yada.

"Just like I thought!" Chazz yelled, and his face-down turned face-up. "Chthonian Polymer. You never learn, do you, Slacker? I made the exact same move, and you still fell for it. And I'm sure you forget the effect of this card, so let me explain it. Chthonian Polymer lets me take one Fusion monster on my opponent's field at the cost of one of my own monsters. Now, Reborn Zombie goes bye-bye and Flame Wingman becomes mine."

Zombie disappeared, and Wingman went to Chazz's field.

"I can have a Normal Summon left!" I yelled. "So I'll bring Clayman out in Defense Mode!"

Clayman appeared before me, blocking me.

"This is just like their first duel." Syrus muttered.

"Say what?" Hassleberry asked.

"I end my turn." I said.

"I summon Chthonian Soldier in Attack Mode!" Chazz called.

Chthonian Soldier appeared before Chazz.

"First, I'll attack Sparkman with Flame Wingman." Chazz said.

Flame Wingman leapt in the air and crashed down on Clayman.

"And because of Wingman's effect, you lose Life Points equal to Clayman's Attack Points." Chazz explained.

My Life Points dropped to 3200, as Wingman sent a blast of fire at me.

"Next, I'll attack you directly with Chthonian Soldier!" Chazz yelled.

Chthonian Soldier cut away 1200 of my Life Points. I was already down to half.

"I'll end my turn by placing a card face-down." Chazz said, as a card appeared between him and his monsters.

"My turn!" I said, drawing a card. "And look at that! I summon Sparkman to the field!"

Sparkman appeared before me.

"I'll attack Chthonian Soldier with Sparkman!" Syrus and I said at the same time.

Sparkman shot electricity at Chthonian Soldier, shattering it and dropping Chazz's Life Points to 3600.

"Did you forget already?" Chazz asked, an evil look coming over his face.

I turned my attention to behind me. The goon with the knife placed it closer to Alexis' throat.

"I'll be fine, Jaden!" Alexis shouted.

"Be quiet!" The thug holding Alexis said, tightening his grip.

I glared at them before turning my attention back to Chazz.

"That's not all!" Chazz shouted. "When Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of damage that I do."

Chthonian Soldier's sword launched up and flew through the air, stabbing me. Well, not actually stabbing, because hologram, but it hit me! My Life Points dropped to 1600.

"I'll play one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

"My draw!" Chazz said, pulling a card from his deck. "I attack Sparkman with the Flame Wingman!"

Flame Wingman leapt for Sparkman.

"I activate Mirror Gate!" I yelled.

Sparkman and Wingman switched sides. Flame Wingman's attack finished, taking out CHAZZ'S Sparkman, rather than mine. HA!

Chazz's Life Points dropped to 3100. Flame Wingman appeared in front of Chazz and with a blast of holographic fire, took Chazz down to 1500 Life Points! I couldn't cheer too much though. Every time Chazz lost Life Points, that knife got closer to Alexis' throat.

"Next, I'll activate Chthonian Blast!" Chazz yelled. "You remember what it does, right, Slacker?"

"When one of your monsters is destroyed, you can destroy one monster on the field, and I take half of that monster's Attack Points as damage." I explained.

"Good." Chazz said. "Now, I destroy the Flame Wingman!"

Flame Wingman shattered, and the debris hit me, dropping my Life Points to 550.

"Now I activate my face-down, Call of the Haunted!" Chazz shouted. "This lets me bring back Chthonian Soldier from my graveyard."

Chthonian Soldier appeared back on Chazz's field.

"Now, I'll sacrifice Soldier to summon Mefist, the Infernal General!" Chazz said, as Mefist appeared where his Chthonian Soldier had previously stood. "I'll end my turn."

'This is it.' I thought to myself, drawing a card from my deck, and doing my best to not look at it.

They say that when two duelists are dueling with all their heart and belief in their cards, they can actually control which cards they bring to their hand. I wasn't sure entirely how true this was, but if the rest of this duel was any indication, it had worked for Chazz and I up until this point. Why stop now?

Turning the card around, I saw it. Monster Reborn.

'Yes!' I thought. 'With this, I can summon Flame Wingman and beat Chazz. But if I do that, Lex's throat will be slashed open.'

In all my hesitation, I could still here my friends talking behind me.

"Why is the Sarge just standing there?" Hassleberry asked.

"If this is just like the rest of their duel, then I know the card Jaden drew." Syrus said. "It's Monster Reborn. He can summon Flame Wingman back to the field, but if he does..."

"I get you." Hassleberry growled, as his eyes took on their dinosaur state... I assume.

"Jaden, just do it!" Alexis shouted. "Just forget about me! If this is what it takes to stop Chazz, I'm fine with it!"

"But I'm not!" I said, growling. "How can I just let him kill you like that?! I couldn't let him kill anyone, let alone you!"

Alexis gasped, seeming shocked by what I said. Is it so strange to think a guy wants to protect his friends?

"This has gone on too long!" Hassleberry yelled.

Turning around, I could see Hassleberry standing up, charging Chazz's goon with the knife and tackling him to the ground. The knife slipped out of his hand and slid across the floor.

"You little twerp!" Chazz's other goon said, tightening his hold on Alexis.

"I'd let her go if I were you." Came a voice I wasn't expecting to hear.

All of us turned our attention to the entrance, where Aster walked in. Well, finally! Where the heck have you been?!

Aster walked over to the knife, kicked it into the air and caught it. ...Okay, that was kinda awesome.

"Otherwise, blood will be spilt." Aster said, pointing the knife at Chazz's thug.

Cue thug immediately releasing Alexis and running right out of the Arena. Alexis then stumbled over to me.

"There you go, Jaden." Alexis said. "I'm free now. End it."

"Gotcha!" I said, smirking. "Alright, Chazz. Let me prove once and for all which of us would have won our first duel. I play Monster Reborn!"

Flame Wingman rose back to my field in all his glory, glaring at Mefist.

"Alright, Flame Wingman!" I shouted. "Attack Mefist!"

Flame Wingman leapt in the air, then dived at Mefist while covered in flames. The flames burnt through Mefist, who shattered. Chazz's Life Points dropped to 1200. Flame Wingman then landed in front of Chazz and pointed his dragon arm at him.

"No!" Chazz yelled! "Please, no! I was supposed to be able to beat Jaden after joining the Society! With the power of light, I could... I could..."

Be blasted by holographic fire! Chazz's Life Points dropped right to 0, winning me the duel and ending this Society of Light nonsense for good!

"And that's game!" I said, doing my winning pose as the audience gave a round of applause.

Then, out of nowhere, a spaceship zoomed into the Arena. A bright light shone down as the doors opened and two strange beings walked out. The two looked over at Chazz, seemed to say something in an alien language, then grabbed him and took him back into their ship, before flying off, never to be seen again.

...Alright, that didn't happen. But wouldn't it have been awesome if it did!?

* * *

Following Chazz's defeat, the gang and I all left the Arena, heading back to Alexis' room for a little celebration. What? I think we deserved it! The Society of Light was now, 100%, disbanded.

"He really tied you to a tree?" Syrus asked in shock.

"Yeah." I confirmed. "That Bonaparte is nuts. We need to do something about him." ...Again, I was busy.

"Still, I can't believe Crowler came to rescue you." Atticus said.

"Yes." Bastion said. "Who would have imagined the man who constantly tried to get you expelled would end up saving you?"

"Oh, this kind of thing always happens to the hero." I said, smirking proudly. "Speaking of heroes, we need to give a round of applause for Hassleberry and Aster here. They were the ones to save Alexis so I could win, after all."

"Those guys didn't scare me." Alexis said. "No way could they have gone through with it. Still, thanks for the help, guys."

"Saving a hostage is all part of the training." Hassleberry said. "Besides, the Sarge was in trouble. What kind of best friend wouldn't leap into the fray to help him?"

Syrus and Hassleberry shot each other glares, causing most of us to laugh.

"As for me, I don't need any thanks." Aster said. "I refuse to be in your debt, and I did bail on you during our planned assault on the White Dorm."

"Yeah!" I shouted. "Where were you anyway?!"

"I'll give you the full details some other time, but I dueled my legal guardian for the ultimate Destiny Hero." Aster said, holding up a card. Backside facing me, of course.

"Ultimate Destiny Hero, huh?" I asked. "Sounds like something I want to take on."

"Some other time." Aster said. "First, I'd like to visit Sartorius in the infirmary."

"You're sure we can trust the guy?" Syrus asked. "He did try to brainwash our whole school."

"That was the Light of Destruction." Aster said. "But now I've destroyed it."

"Hey!" I snapped. "I destroyed it! You hung out with a buddy and got a free card!"

"Whatever." Aster said, as he began walking another direction. "Jaden, things with the Society may be settled, but you and I still have to prove which one of us has the better heroes."

"Any time you're ready, Aster!" I called, flashing a thumbs up.

* * *

Our celebration didn't really amount to much, all things considered. Looking back, it was just six teenagers watching television and dueling each other. Still, we all had fun, and that was the important part.

Bastion bailed out early, claiming he needed to do some calculations, now that the Society was gone.

As the night began to wind down, Syrus and Hassleberry were the next to leave.

"A soldier has to get a good night's sleep after the enemy has been defeated." Hassleberry said. "It's the only peace he gets between wars."

"Yeah, whatever he said..." Syrus muttered, before perking up. "Jaden, feel free to stay out as long as you want. We'll make up a good excuse to get you out of class tomorrow."

And then Syrus and Hassleberry left.

"Three down, one to go." Atticus said, standing up. "I should probably get back to my room too. It's not right next door after all."

Atticus walked out the door, then peeked his head back in.

"Remember though, Jaden, just because I'm leaving you two lovebirds alone, doesn't mean I want you to do anything I wouldn't." Atticus chuckled, only to get hit in the face by a cushion Alexis threw.

"Shut up!" The two of us cried.

After Atticus left, I went over and picked up the couch cushion Alexis had thrown at him and placed it back down on the couch.

"Thanks." Alexis said.

"It's just a cushion." I said, sitting back down.

"I don't mean for that." Alexis said.

"What for then?" I asked.

"Freeing me from the Society." Alexis said.

"Oh, that's nothing." I said.

"Still, you helped me out." Alexis said. "Thanks for that."

"No biggie." I said.

We sat there for a few minutes in silence.

"So, my brother really thinks we're lovebirds." Alexis said. "Funny, huh?"

"Yeah." I said. "Syrus and Hassleberry too."

"We're not like that though." Alexis said. "I mean, after all, we haven't even gone on a date or anything like that."

"I know, I know." I laughed. "Like, what? Am I supposed to ask you to the card shop? Call in a favor to Dorothy and have her cook us a meal?"

"Then I say yes and we slowly eat together before realizing we were truly meant for one another?" Alexis asked.

The two of us laughed.

"But y'know..." I started. "...after Yugi's deck last year, they're bringing Seto Kaiba's Battle City deck here this year."

"I've heard of that." Alexis said. "They're putting in replicas of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, right?"

"Yeah." I said. "Anyway, I managed to win two tickets to go see it when it comes here. Syrus says Kaiba reminds him too much of his brother, and Hassleberry wasn't interested either. So, if you want, I can give you my other ticket."

"I'd like that." Alexis said.

"Alright." I said. "So, we'll go together."

"Like on a date?" Alexis asked.

"Well, there won't be any food there." I said. "So it's not really a date. But, I mean, if you wanna call it that..."

"Then it's a date." Alexis said, smiling.

I smiled back.

And that's it. That's the story of how the great Jaden Yuki realized his feelings for the great Alexis Rhodes and went on to date her. And we had many fun adventures as a couple. But those, my friends, are stories for another time.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, I managed to begin and end this remake on the same days the original started and ending. Sadly, I can't keep this up for the remakes of the other fics. And, if you were wondering, yeah! I am gonna do the other fics! Rewriting Breaking the Hold was quite fun. I enjoyed it more than most things I've written in the past couple years. Plus, I've gotten a lot of ideas on how to expand things. Some of which you can actually see already taking form, if you look closely enough. That said, I have no idea when the Missing remake will some out. I'll probably make sure to finish it before I post the first chapter though, but I honestly cut it close for a lot of BtSH. However, until then, thank you all, once again, for reading, reviewing and favoriting this story. I hope you enjoyed it.


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